Ukraine's ambassador to China, Pavlo Riabikin, confirmed that China had been invited to participate in talks on Ukraine's peace formula, Riabikin said on Jan. 31. The statement came after Riabikin met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong on Jan. 29.
China and Russia have strengthened their economic and political ties amid a Western push to isolate Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. China has offered to mediate the conflict but has not condemned Russia's actions and repeatedly abstained from voting in UN resolutions on the war in Ukraine.
Deputy Presidential Office head Ihor Zhovkva said in an interview with Reuters on Jan. 26 that Ukraine had invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to participate in the upcoming Global Peace Summit in Switzerland aimed at building support for the Ukrainian peace formula.
Since President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a 10-point peace plan in November 2022, there have been four advisory meetings on the level of national security advisers. China was present only at one of them.
Zelensky's peace plan calls for an end to ecocide in Ukraine, punishing those responsible for war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and the release of all prisoners of war and deportees.
The proposal also includes measures to ensure energy and food security, as well as nuclear safety.
Riabikin did not comment on whether the Chinese side had accepted the invitation.
The invitation was not mentioned in a statement published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry about the meeting, which referred to the full-sale war in Ukraine as the "Ukraine crisis."
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
